What's an election without talk of the mob?

Once upon a time in Chicago, a prominent Northwest Side political boss from the 36th Ward was asked about the connection between the Outfit and politics.

"What does that mean, 'mob associated'?" asked then-state Sen. James A. DeLeo, D-How You Doin? "In the year 2001, is there really a mob in Chicago?"

So much has happened since then, including that little trial called the Family Secrets case. Outfit bosses went to prison for life. Mysterious mob hits were solved.

And political figures — including guys from the 36th Ward — cringed as their names were mentioned in testimony, though they were never charged.

Now the question about mob influence in the 36th Ward is coming up again, in the aldermanic runoff between Ald. John "200 Smackers" Rice and independent Nicholas Sposato, a veteran Chicago firefighter.

Rice's main credential is that he was the loyal driver for former Ald. William Banks, who retired and made Rice the alderman.

Clearly, Rice knows how to keep his mouth shut and take direction, the two most important skills for a 36th Ward Regular Democratic political figure.

Two years ago, the Tribune reported that Rice was so happy about being elevated to the aldermanic heights, he decided to throw Banks a retirement party, 36th Ward style.

He told each invited guest to write out a $200 check and make it payable to Banks.

Asking guests to write all those checks was rude. I figure Rice should have just told them to bring 200 smackers in cash.

That way, he could have put all the bundles together in a little silk purse and presented it to Billy Banks as a sincere gesture of his love and respect.

Sadly, many in the ward began to snicker at Rice and they canceled the party.

But what really frosted Rice happened last week. Former mobster Frank Calabrese Jr. — the author of a new book on the Family Secrets case — held a series of interviews with reporters and mentioned politics and the Outfit.

Calabrese's book centers on the decision he made to wear a government wire against organized crime. But in interviews last week, Calabrese mentioned politics, specifically, the 36th Ward.

He also mentioned DeLeo, who recently retired from the state Senate but retains the post of Democratic boss of the 5th Congressional District.

Calabrese went out of his way to tell me DeLeo didn't do anything illegal in his presence. But Calabrese said his father, imprisoned Chinatown Crew boss Frank Calabrese Sr., specifically ordered him to get close to DeLeo.

"The 36th Ward was always strong with the Outfit, just based on who lived in the area," Calabrese told me. "… My father wanted me to strike up a friendship with Jimmy DeLeo."

And did you?

"I did," Calabrese Jr. said. "He was a real nice guy. He was a politician."

Does the Outfit trust politicians?

"We didn't trust them," Calabrese told me. "We tried not to hang around with them or be seen with them. We just needed them for what we needed them for."

We repeatedly tried reaching DeLeo at his political and business offices, but he did not return calls.

Calabrese's invocation of 36th Ward politics gave aldermanic challenger Sposato the excuse to stand at City Hall, hold a news conference and call on U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to investigate connections between the ward and the Outfit.

The late Sam "Pastries" Banks, longtime 36th Ward Democratic committeeman and older brother of Rice's former cargo (Ald. Billy Banks), was named from the witness stand by career Outfit burglar Sal Romano.

Romano testified that when he'd get in trouble, Sam Banks would take care of police with bribes, though Romano said he never saw money exchanged.

And Ann Spilotro, the widow of slain mobster Michael Spilotro, testified that after her husband was killed, two prominent members of the 36th Ward offered to buy the building that housed her husband's restaurant: DeLeo and Sam Banks' son, famed zoning lawyer James Banks.

At the time of the trial, DeLeo and Banks denied buying the building from Spilotro, and said they only rented it.

All this compelled candidate Sposato to call for a federal investigation.

"Did Calabrese talk about the 41st Ward? The 38th Ward? No. He talked about the 36th Ward," Sposato told me. "So what did I do? I asked the U.S. attorney to investigate it. I've been hearing this stuff for years. You've written about it. Others.

"Rice should welcome this investigation. He should stand up and say, 'Let's clear all this up,' " said Sposato.